Portable time switch



Jan. 18, 1955 D. MORRISON 2,700,077

PORTABLE TIME SWITCH Filed Sept. 7, 1949 2 Sheets$heet l I l "29 @MMW 1 1 :n 30

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Jan. 18, 1955 D. MORRISON PORTABLE TIME SWITCH Filed Sept. 7, 1949 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 United States Patent PORTABLE TIME SWITCH David Morrison, Manitowoc, Wis, assignor to Paragon Electric Company, Two Rivers, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application September 7, 1949, Serial No. 114,341 9 Claims. (Cl. 200-38) The present invention relates particularly to small time switches wherein automatic mechanism, for alternately opening and closing one or more circuits, is housed in a small casing and wherein the setting of the device is accomplished through the use of an exterior dial and tripper members adjustable around the dial; and it is the main purpose of the present invention to improve such switches.

One of the objections to previous devices of the type under consideration is that too much of the mechanism has been placed on the outside of the casing where it detracts from the appearance of the device and is easily damaged. One of the objects of the present invention is to modify the various constituent parts of the device so that the dial may lie close to or in the plane of the adjacent casing wall and leave no objectionable protuberances.

In order to attain this object, I place the switch and the actuating mechanism therefor within the casing, leaving on the exterior only the dial and associated, flat radial arms underlying and latched to the dial. To accommodate these exterior parts I depress the casing wall, outside of which the dial lies, over a circular area somewhat larger than the dial and deep enough to house such parts. As this new arrangement places the tripper arms within the casing, it requires that driving connections extend from outside arms to the tripper arms in the casing, the center of the bottom wall of the depression is cut away to allow for free play of rigid ele ments projecting from the outside or driving arms. into the casing and engaged with the tripper arms.

Viewed in one of its aspects, therefore, the present invention may be said to have for an object to produce novel, effective and easily assembled connections be tween angularly adjustable driving arms on the under side of a dial located on the. outside of a casing and. switch tripping means within the latter.

A further object of the present invention is to produce a simple and reliable means for securely latching the driving arms to the dial, while permitting the trippers to be shifted quickly and easily to bring about any desired timing conditions.

In the type of switch under discussion, the tripper arms act on a rock shaft that sets in motion a means to open and close a switch by a snap action.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a simple and novel means that permit quick, easy and accurate adjustments to be made between cooperating elements on the rock shaft and on the tripper arms to insure perfect timing.

1 effect this latter object by providing the rock shaft with two more or less radial horms composed of material suificiently ductile to permit them to be bent without difficulty for producing the final fine adjustments.

A further object of the invention is to reduce the cost of the gear trains between the motor and the dial shaft, simplifying the work of assembly of the same in the framing, and provide better lubrication of the bearings for the arbors.

I attain this object by leaving the arbors of full diameter at their ends, setting such ends into holes in the frame plates, and applying to. the outer sides of the frame plates retaining plates that bear against the end faces of the arbors and take the lengthwise thrusts of the latter. The retaining plates are not a tight fit, and therefore, a lubricant may bev trapped between them and the frame plates and work its way to the arbors by capillary action.

A further object of the present invention is to produce a very simple, novel one-way clutch between the dial shaft and the motor drive to permit tree manual turning of the dial in one direction.

A still further ob ect of the present invention is to produce a simple and novel switch, proper, that shall be very light, sensitive in operation, and require a negligible amount of power for its operation.

The various features of novelty whereby the present invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims, but, for a full understanding of the invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side view of a time switch device embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device; Fig. 3 is an end view of the device; Fig. 4 is a top plan view on a larger scale than Fig. 2, the casing being shown in section on line 4-4 of Fig. 5; Fig. 5 is a side view on the same scale as Fig. 4, the casing being mainly in section; Fig. 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Fig. 5, the casing being omitted; Fig. 7 is a view, similar to Fig. 6, showing the movable parts in different positions than in the latter. Fig. 8 is a section on line 8-8 of Fig. 5; Fig. 9 is a section on line 99 of Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a sectional view through the clockwork at the base of the dial shaft, showing the one-way clutch; Figs. 11 and 12 are, respectively, a top plan view and an edge view of one of the two like arms associated with the dial; Figs. 13 and 14 are plan views of the two tripper arms that are driven by the aforesaid arms; and Fig. 15 is an elevational view of the switch, proper, as seen from the vicinity of line 15-15 in Fig. 5.

eferring to the drawings, 20 is a sheet metal casing open at the under side and provided with a detachable bottom in the form of a shallow pan 21 fitting into the The mechanisms within the casing are mounted on bottom member 21 so as to be exposed to view when the body of the casing is lifted 00?; parallel upper and lower frame plates, 22 and 23, about three-fourths as long as the casing, spaced apart from each other and from the bottom member, constituting the main supports. The lower plate has deep, down-turned flanges 24 and 25 that rest on the bottom wall, one close to an end wall of the casing and the other spaced apart from the opposite end wall. Flange 25 has a foot piece 26 that is fastened to the bottom wall in any suitable manner.

Lying flat against flange 25 is a panel or slab 27 of insulating material that extends far up above plate 23 and carries the switch. The switch comprises a light, T-shaped movable plate 28, and two stationary contacts 29 and 30 that are spanned by the cross arm of the T. The support for the movable switch member is a post 31 fixed to and projecting from the inner side of the panel 2'7 and provided with an extension 32 of reduced diameter. The stem of the movable switch member contains a hole at about the middle, through which the extension of the post projects, while the stem rests on the post. There is a head 33 on the end of the extension 32 and, between this head and the movable switch member and surrounding said extension, is a light coiled spring 34 that tends constantly to press the cross arm of the movable switch member a ainst the stationary contacts. The tail of the stem element of the movable switch member is bent down to provide a lip 35 that extends into a small hole 36 in the panel; thus permitting the movable switch member to rock from and toward the stationary contacts, without being able to turn about the axis of the supporting post.

The switch is self-closing, and is opened and held open by an arm 37 of insulating material loose on and projecting radially from a rock shaft 38 that extends at right angles to frame plates 22 and 23 through both of them. The rock shaft has two angularly displaced positions, in one of which it causes the arm to press against the tail of the movable switch member, as in Fig. 7, to hold the switch open; whereas, in the second position, that occupied in Fig. 6, it causes the arm to stand clear of the closed switch. Means are provided to latch arm 37 yieldingly in each of its positions and to cause it to snap from one position to the other. in its switch-controlling movements. Fixed on the rock shaft, just above frame plate 23, is a cross arm 39 bent up at one end to form a finger 40 paralleling the shaft. On the other end of this arm is a cross piece 41, bent up at its ends, through angles of about thirty degrees, to provide two oppositely disposed earns, 41 and 41. Fixed to a hub 3'17 on arm 37, directly above cross arm 39, is a second cross arm 42 bent up at one end to provide an upturned finger 43 on the same side of the shaft as, and nearer the latter than, finger 4%). The hair pin ends of a torsion spring 44, surrounding the hub, extend past and lie on opposite sides of fingers 40 and 43. The other end of cross arm 42 is bent down to provide a lug 45 adapted to enter either of two holes, 46 and 47, in frame plate 23. Beside holes 46 and 47 are stops in the form of bosses 46 and 47*, respectively. On cross arm 42, near the down turned end, are little wings, 42 and 42 that lie between, and are preferably inclined at the same angles as, cams 41 and 41 Surrounding the rock shaft, above the switch-opening arm 37, is a compression spring 48 that bears against the under side of frame plate 22 and yieldingly presses this arm and arm 42, connected therewith, down.

On the upper end of the rock shaft are two more or less radial, curved horns 49 and 50 formed of ductile metal so that they can be bent without difficulty in making final adjustments. Also secured to the upper end of the shaft is a lever 51 provided with a finger piece 52 that extends out through an arcuate slot 53 in the top wall 54 of the casing. The horns are employed for automatic operation of the rock shaft which may also be operated manually by the said lever.

For automatic operation of the rock shaft I employ a power driven shaft 55, supported by the frame plates and extending out through the top wall of the casing. Loose on shaft 55, and resting on a shoulder in the form of a washer-like key 56 carried by the shaft, in about the plane of the horns on the rock shaft, are two radial tripper arms 57 and 58 which differ from each other in length. Arm 57 has at its free end a down turned lug 57 for engagement with horn 49 to turn the rock shaft into position to open the switch, as in Fig. 7. Arm 58, also has a down turned lug, 58 at its free end; this lug being adapted to engage horn 50, when the rock shaft is in the position occupied in Fig. 7, and rock the shaft into the position that it has in Fig. 6, again allowing the switch to close.

Shaft 55 has on the outer end the usual dial 59 for use in setting the tripper arms. The dial is slipped on the outer end of the shaft which extends up into a central knob 60 on top of the dial; the knob being secured to the shaft by a set screw 61. Underlying the dial, and loose on the shaft, are a pair of like arms 62, for adjusting and driving the tripper arms. These driving arms are conveniently flat stampings having long fingers 63 punched out and projecting downward therefrom between the ends thereof. Each of the tripper arms, as best shown in Figs. 13 and 14, contains a hole 64, into which the finger on one of the driving arms extends. The driving arms rest on a stiff coil spring 65 that surrounds shaft 55 and, in turn, rests on the uppermost tripper arm 58; the driving arms being therefore pressed firmly against each other and against the under side of the dial, while the tripper arms are pressed down against the supporting key washer. In order to compel the driving arms to rotate with the shaft and yet be easily adjustable independently of each other angularly of the shaft, simple means are provided for latching them to the dial. In the arrangement shown, the dial has fixed to its under side a disc 66 having a periphery made up of fine teeth 67. Each driving arm has struck up from the same a little lug 68 adapted to enter the valley between any two consecutive teeth. Although the driving arms may be resilient so as to permit them to be unlatched by bending when their outer ends are pressed down, the spring 65 allows them to rock downward, without bending, when the arms are sufficiently loose on the shaft, as they preferably are. Each of the driving arms has at its outer end 69 a bent up finger piece and pointer for cooperation with the dial.

The top wall of the casing is depressed over a circular area greater in diameter than the dial, thereby providing a well 70 within which the dial and the driving arms are housed, only the knob protruding. To allow freedom of movement of the driving arms, the bottom of the well is cut out to provide a central opening 71 that is only a little smaller in diameter than the dial.

Shaft 55 is driven by the usual synchronous motor 72 that underlies and is supported by frame plate 23. In between the two frame plates is a gear train, the last element of which, gear wheel 73, must be connected to the shaft by a one-way clutch. As best shown in Fig. 10, shaft 55 has at its lower end an enlarged cylindrical part 74 provided with an annular flange 75 at the bottom. Gear wheel 73 has a hub 76, of the same diameter as part 74, resting on the latter, and has a flange 77 around its upper end, next to the wheel. Surrounding parts 74 and 76, and fitting snugly against the peripheries thereof, is a coil spring 78 which is free in the sense that it is not fastened in any way to any other part; the assembly being effected by slipping the spring and the wheel on the shaft, one after the other, and then turning the two latter members relatively to each other in a direction tending to unwind the spring. After the hub has entered the spring, the wheel and shaft can be turned relatively to each other in one direction, but are locked against a reverse movement.

The speed reducing gear mechanism is of the conventional type except that, as shown in Fig. 5, the arbors 79 are not reduced in diameter at their ends, which have bearings in frame plates. End thrust are taken by auxiliary plates 80 and 81, the first of which overlies frame plate 22 while the other underlies the lower frame plate 23. Plate 81 may be interposed between plate 23 and th base of the motor, whereas marginal portion of plate 81 may be slipped under the heads of screws 82 that extend through plate 22 into struts 83 rising from frame plate 23 to tie the said plates together. These auxiliary plates not only hold the arbors against endwise movements, but also leave enough space between the same and the main plates to store substantial amounts of lubricating material that maintain good lubrication of the arbor bearings for a long time.

The space within the casing to the left of the switchsupporting panel serves to contain wires and connections between them and outside wires, the wiring having been omitted as it forms no part of the present invention. However, there is shown a sheet 84 of insulating material bent into angle shape, and so disposed as to shut oif this space from the rest of the casing interior.

It is believed that the operation has been almost completely explained, in a general way, in the description of the construction. After the driving arms have been latched to the dial to give the desired setting, and the motor started, the switch is caused to open and again close once during each revolution of the dial shaft. In Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 8 the switch is closed and, assuming that the dial shaft turns in the clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 6, it must travel through an angle of almost 180 before lug 57 engages with horn 49 on the rock shaft. When this occurs, the rock shaft, and with it its cam arm 39, begins to turn, also in the clockwise direction, and causes the right hand cam 41*, on that arm, to pass under wing 42* on arm 42. This results in lifting arm 42 and at the same time stressing torsion spring 44. After the arm has risen far enough for lug 45 to clear hole 46 in plate 23, the torsion spring recoils and snaps arm 37 into the switch opening position of Fig. 7. Lug. 45 now registers with hole 47 in the frame plate and, since arm 42 is again in the neutral position shown in Fig. 5, relative to the camming means, spring 48 drives arm 42 down until lug 45 enters hole 47 and locks the switch open until tripper arm 58 reaches horn 50 and turns the rock shaft back into the position shown in Fig. 6. During the return movement of the rock shaft the lug is first lifted out of hole 47 and as arm 37 is snapped back into the open position, the lug again drops into hole 46, as in Fig. 7. The stops 46 and 47 previously described, limit the swinging movements of arm 42 so that it cannot carry its lug 45 past the hole toward which it is moving after leaving the otherhole.

When it is desired, for any reason, to open or close the switch independently of the timing means, one need only push finger piece 52 from that end of the slot 53 in which it happens to be to the opposite end. This causes the switch to open if it was previously closed and vice versa, but does not effect subsequent operating cycles except to the extent, that the first. tripper arm thereafter reaching the rock shaft findsw that its work has been done. for'tlrat cycle. Of course, if the. finger piece. is moved bacle to its starting point before either tripper is ready to movethe rock shaft, the automaticv cycles continue just as there had been no interrupting incident- If the closest setting that can. be: made of the driving arms relative to. the. dial. is not sufiiciently accurate; final, fine adjustments can. easily be. made. by bending the horns on the rock shaft, so as to. advance or retard the time of contact of either or both trippers with the corresponding horns.

While I have illustrated and describedv with particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact details thus illustrated and described, but intend to cover all forms and arrangements that come within the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a time switch, a casing; including a switch, a rockable and a motor driven shaft mechanism in the casing actuator for the switch, that extends up through the top of the casing; the top of the casing being depressed over a considerable area surrounding said shaft and containing a large opening in the bottom of the depression and concentric with the shaft; a dial fastened to the upper end of the shaft; trippers for the rockable actuator loose on the shaft within the casing; radial elements loose on the shaft outside of the casing and just below the dial provided with means to latch them to the dial in any desired angular positions relatively to each other and to the dial; and parts on said elements extending down through the aforesaid opening in the casing into driving relation with the respective trippers.

2. In a time switch, a casing; mechanism in the casing including a switch, a rockable actuator for the switch, and a motor driven shaft that extends up through the top of the casing; the top of the casing being depressed over a considerable area surrounding said shaft and containing a large opening in the bottom of the depression and con centric with the shaft; a dial fastened to the upper end of the shaft; tripper arms for the rockable actuator loose on the shaft within the casing and having holes therein; radial driving arms loose on the shaft on the outside of the casing and just below the dial provided with means to latch them to the dial in any angular positions relatively to each other and to the dial; and fingers on said driving arms extending down through the aforesaid opening in the casing and into the holes in the respective trippers.

3. In a time switch, a pair of supporting plates arranged in parallel, spaced relation one above the other, a rock shaft having a bearing on the lower plate and extending up through the upper plate, a finger piece on the upper end of the shaft for rocking the same manually, a pair of horns also on the upper end of the shaft, motor driven elements movable in concentric, circular paths one of which intersects one horn while the other intersects the other horn, said elements being spaced apart angularly with respect to the axis about which they turn so as alternately to engage the corresponding horns and rock the shaft back and forth, a radial arm loose on the shaft between the plates and having a limited angular movement about the axis of the shaft; snap action means arranged between the plates, operated by said shaft and acting on said arm to drive the arm quickly from one limit of its movement to the other when the shaft is rocked; and a self-closing switch having a part extending into the path of said arm to be operated by the latter and cause the switch to open when the arm is at one limit of its movement.

4. In a time switch, a pair of supporting plates arranged in parallel, spaced relation one above the other, a rock shaft having a bearing on the lower plate and extending up through the upper plate, a finger piece on the upper end of the shaft for rocking the same manually, a pair of horns also on the upper end of the shaft, motor driven elements movable in concentric, circular paths one of which intersects one horn while the other intersects the other horn, said elements being spaced apart angularly with respect to the axis about which they turn so as alternately to engage the corresponding horns and rock the shaft back and forth, a radial arm loose on the shaft between the plates and having a limited angular movement about the axis of the shaft; snap action means arranged between the plates, operated by said shaft and acting on said armto, drive the arm: quickly from one limit of its movement to the otherwhen the shaft is rocked; a panel rising from the lower plate near the arm when the. latter is at one limit of its movement; and a self-closing switch on the panel including a rockable movable contact piece, which contact piece has a part extending into the path of said arm in position to be. engaged by the latter and cause the switch to open when the arm is swung toward the panel.

5. In a switch, a casing; mechanism in the casing including a switch, a rockable actuator for the switch, and a motor driven. shaft that extends up through the top of the casing; the top of the casing being depressed over a considerable area surrounding the shaft and containing at the bottom of the depression a large opening concentric with the shaft; said shaft having thereon a shoulder located well below the top of the casing; two tripper arms for rocking the aforesaid actuator loose on the shaft and resting on said shoulder; a compression spring surrounding the shaft, resting on the tripper arms, and extending up through said opening two driving arms loose on the shaft and resting on top of the spring; a dial secured on the upper end of said shaft and pressing the driving arms firmly down on the spring; each tripper arm containing a hole and each driving arm being provided with a depending finger entered in the hole of one of the tripper arms; and means to latch each driving arm to the dial independently of the other driving arm.

6. In a switch, a casing; mechanism in the casing including a switch, a rockable actuator for the switch, and a motor driven shaft that extends up through the top of the casing; the top of the casing being depressed over a considerable area surrounding the shaft and containing at the bottom of the depression a large opening concentric with the shaft; said shaft having thereon a shoulder located well below the top of the casing; two tripper arms for rocking the aforesaid actuator loose on the shaft and resting on said shoulder; a compression spring surrounding the shaft, resting on the tripper arms, and extending up through said opening two timing and driving arms loose on the shaft and resting on top of the spring; a dial secured on the upper end of said shaft and pressing the timing arms firmly down on the spring; each tripper arm containing a hole and each timing arm being provided with a depending finger entered in the hole of one of the tripper arms; a large, peripherally toothed disc on the under side of the dial, concentric with the dial and fixed thereto; and each timing arm that is normally held by the pressure of the spring in engagement with the teeth on said disc to latch the arm to the dial.

7. In a time switch, a

pair of spaced, parallel horizontal supporting plates,

a rock shaft having a bearing on the lower plate and extending up through the upper plate, a radial cam arm fixed to the shaft above and close to the lower plate, a switch operating device loose on the shaft and having a radial latch arm overlying the cam arm, said latch arm having a downward projection at its outer end, the lower plate having therein two holes spaced apart and each being in a position to receive said projection when the latch arm and that hole are on the same radius, stops on the lower plate beside said holes to limit the swinging movements of the switch operating device, cooperating cam elements on said arms to cause the switch operating device to be lifted to raise its said projection out of the hole it may be occupying whenever the cam arm swings a predetermined distance toward the other of said holes, and then leave the switch operating device free to move from one stop to the other, a spring connecting the cam arm to the switch operating device so as to store up energy whenever the cam arm moves toward one of the holes while said projection is in the other hole, and a second spring yieldingly holding the switch operating device down but permitting it to rise to lift the projection thereon clear of the said holes.

8. The combination with the rocker shaft of a switch mechanism wherein there is a rocker shaft adapted to be rocked back and forth by tripper elements that pass said shaft, one on one side of the shaft and the other on the other side of the shaft, while traveling in the same direction but one ahead of the other: of a member fixed to the shaft and having two horns one of which extends into the path of one of the trippers while the other horn extends into the path of the other tripper, said horns being formed of ductile metal to permit them to be bent in order to adjust for exact timing of the tripping operations.

9. A time switch apparatus having a rotatable shaft, a dial secured on one end of the shaft, said dial having on the under side teeth arranged in a circle whose diameter is somewhat less than that of the dial, two resilient, radial arms mounted on the shaft beneath the dial so as to be movable independently of each other relatively to the shaft and projecting beyond the edge of the dial at their free ends, and each arm having :1 lug underlying the dial and yieldingly held in engagement with said teeth to latch the arm to the dial.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,233,692 Nicholaus July 17, 1917 8 Danial May 18, Mettler Oct. 11, Townsend Jan. 2, Pudelko Jan. 16, Schmitter Aug. 28, Laughlin Dec. 10, Starkey Jan. 14, Bannan Apr. 7, Minneci Oct. 1, Evans Jan. 20, Malone June 18, Flegel Nov. 4, Bonanno Oct. 17, 

